标签： Jamaica

PARIS, France – The global wine industry entered 2025 facing a rare confluence of interconnected challenges that pushed annual worldwide wine consumption to its lowest level in years, according to a new annual report released Tuesday by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), the sector’s leading global trade body.

The organization’s full-year analysis confirms that global wine consumption dropped 2.7% in 2025, falling to 208 million hectoliters. This latest decline extends a persistent downward trend that has cut global consumption by 14% cumulatively since 2018, marking one of the longest sustained contractions the industry has ever recorded.

OIV officials framed the downturn as the product of overlapping long-term cultural shifts and short-term economic strain that have reshaped consumer behavior across nearly every major market. “This evolution reflects the interaction between longer-term changes in consumption patterns and a more difficult economic environment in recent years,” the OIV explained in its review. In most mature, established wine markets, shifting lifestyle priorities, evolving social norms and generational turnover continue to alter how consumers approach wine purchases and consumption, the organization added.

Since 2020, the global wine sector has also been battered by an unbroken string of external shocks that have eroded consumer purchasing power and confidence. The COVID-19 pandemic, escalating geopolitical tensions, widespread global trade disruptions and persistent inflationary pressures have all combined to create an increasingly challenging operating landscape for producers and distributors, the report noted.

Nine out of the world’s 10 largest national wine markets recorded volume declines in 2025, with three major economies driving the bulk of the global drop: China, France and the United States. The U.S., which holds the title of the world’s largest single wine market, saw consumption fall 4.3% last year. OIV attributes this decline to three core factors: shrinking household purchasing power amid ongoing inflation, a broader trend of reduced alcohol intake among younger generations of American consumers, and a growing market share for alternative alcoholic beverages that have siphoned demand away from wine.

When asked about the lingering impact of tariffs introduced by former U.S. President Donald Trump on global wine trade, OIV director John Barker told AFP that it remains difficult to separate that effect from the host of other headwinds currently hitting the U.S. market.

France, Europe’s largest national wine market and one of the world’s top wine-producing nations, recorded a 3.2% drop in domestic consumption in 2025. China, meanwhile, saw one of the steepest single-year declines globally: national wine consumption fell 13% in 2025, and has plummeted 61% overall since 2020. OIV notes that wine demand in China remains uniquely sensitive to shifts in household income and price point changes, making the market particularly vulnerable to broader economic slowdowns.

Against this backdrop of falling demand, global wine production actually ticked up 0.6% in 2025 to 227 million hectoliters. However, OIV emphasizes that this small increase only represents a partial rebound from a historically low production level recorded in 2024. The 2025 output marks the third consecutive year of below-average global wine production, a trend shaped by both growing climate volatility and proactive production adjustments made by producers responding to softer demand.

Despite the run of reduced output, OIV does not expect below-average production to trigger widespread supply shortages in the near term. Instead, the organization projects that current market conditions will lead to a gradual drawdown of existing industry stockpiles rather than broad gaps in supply. For the global wine sector, the core challenge going forward remains adjusting to the new reality of weaker global consumer demand, the report concluded.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — TransJamaican Highway Limited (TJH), the operator of Jamaica’s key highway concessions, has kicked off 2026 with standout financial performance, posting double-digit growth across all core revenue and profitability metrics while advancing its digital transformation of toll collection across its entire network.

In an official press statement released Tuesday, the infrastructure firm announced unaudited first-quarter results ending March 31, 2026, that far outpace year-ago performance. Total revenue for the quarter hit US$29 million, marking a 29% jump compared to the same three-month period in 2025. Net profit surged 46% year-over-year to reach US$13.2 million, with earnings per share climbing the same 46% to US$0.00106 per unit. Even earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) — a key metric for measuring operating cash flow in infrastructure concessions — rose 31% to US$23.7 million, confirming the resilience and strength of TJH’s public-private concession operating model.

Beyond top and bottom-line growth, the company closed the quarter with a solidified balance sheet. Its debt service coverage ratio, a key indicator of financial health for debt-heavy infrastructure firms, improved to 3.43 times, a figure that well exceeds typical industry benchmarks. TJH officials emphasized that this strong ratio confirms the company’s ability to easily meet its ongoing debt obligations while still allocating capital to critical infrastructure upgrades, technological enhancements, operational overhauls, and consistent returns to shareholders.

In a move that underscores the board’s confidence in the company’s trajectory, directors approved an interim cash dividend of US$13 million, which was distributed to eligible shareholders in April 2026. This payout represents a roughly 30% increase compared to the interim dividend issued in the same period last year, delivering immediate tangible value to investors.

One of the company’s key ongoing strategic initiatives — expanding adoption of its contactless T-Tag electronic tolling system — also hit major milestones in the first quarter. Data from TJH shows that 54% of all motorists using its highway network now opt for T-Tag electronic payment, with peak-hour usage on the high-traffic Portmore Toll Road climbing to nearly 80%. The widespread shift away from cash and manual toll collection has delivered measurable improvements to traffic flow and driver convenience across the network, the company reported.

Even as overall vehicle volumes on TJH highways have risen over the past three years, the company recorded roughly 2.2 million fewer vehicle transactions through manual toll lanes in that period. This reduction in manual lane activity has directly cut down on bottlenecks and reduced average travel times for all motorists, according to the company’s internal analysis.

“The ongoing shift to electronic toll collection has dramatically boosted our operational efficiency while creating a safer, faster journey for everyone who uses our highway network,” said Ivan Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of TransJam Group, TJH’s parent company. “We’re now seeing faster vehicle throughput at every toll plaza, shorter wait times for drivers, more streamlined internal operations, and a noticeably better overall travel experience for our customers.”

Anderson added that TJH will continue pouring investment into information technology upgrades, expanded digital payment options, optimized toll lane configurations, and customer service improvements to modernize the tolling experience and meet growing transportation demands across Jamaica. The company also noted that it has fully integrated the new May Pen to Williamsfield (Phase 1C) highway segment into its network operations, a project that has already boosted overall revenue generation and extended TJH’s strategic reach across the island.

Looking forward to the remainder of 2026 and beyond, Anderson said the group is well positioned to sustain its growth trajectory, supported by consistent operating cash flows, steadily rising traffic demand, growing electronic toll adoption, disciplined capital allocation strategies, and ongoing debt reduction efforts.

“As we continue to scale our operations and expand our network, our core focus remains unchanged: we are committed to delivering long-term value to our shareholders while continuously improving efficiency, convenience, and the overall travel experience for the thousands of Jamaicans who rely on our highways every single day,” Anderson noted.

Jamaica’s new tax on sugary non-alcoholic drinks has sent ripple effects across the local beverage manufacturing industry, with the country’s leading scientific research body stepping in to help producers adapt to the new regulatory environment while keeping products accessible and enjoyable for consumers.

Starting May 1 this year, the Jamaican government implemented a Special Consumption Tax (SCT) of $0.02 per millilitre on non-alcoholic sweetened beverages (NASBs) that contain added sugar or caloric sweeteners, introduced as a revenue measure for the 2026/2027 national budget. Beyond boosting government revenue, the policy also carries a key public health goal: cutting rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that impact a large share of the Jamaican population.

In response to the policy shift, Dr. Charah Watson, Executive Director of Jamaica’s Scientific Research Council (SRC), is calling on all local beverage manufacturers to reformulate their existing products to cut sugar content. This adjustment, she argues, will not only bring businesses into compliance with the new tax regime but also deliver healthier, more affordable options for consumers without sacrificing the familiar flavor profiles customers expect.

To smooth this transition, the SRC is offering a full suite of tailored support services to manufacturers of all sizes. “We’re supporting manufacturers in helping them reformulate, identify appropriate sugar alternatives and conduct the necessary quality testing,” Watson explained in an interview with Observer Online. “We can also assist with sensory evaluation with their target market, so as they adjust their recipes, we can directly measure how consumers respond to the updated products.”

Watson noted that the push for lower-sugar beverages is not a sudden change. Larger local manufacturers have already been moving in this direction since 2018, when public discussions around healthier beverage options for school programs first gained traction. “There have been companies, as far back as 2018 and 2019, that have consistently engaged the SRC to support them in launching lower-sugar products that outperform previous industry standards,” she said.

Now, the council is working to extend this support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-manufacturers, which often lack the resources and agility of larger industry players to adapt to new regulations quickly. “Many smaller producers have not yet taken advantage of the available support, and we want to raise awareness that these services exist to help them stay competitive, not get left behind,” Watson added.

Priced to be accessible for smaller businesses, the SRC’s reformulation services start at approximately $65,000, with final costs varying based on the complexity of the product being adjusted. “The SRC was created exactly for this purpose: to support small and micro enterprises so that they can actively participate in the marketplace and continue to drive the local economy,” Watson noted.

Reformulation is far from a simple quick fix, Watson emphasized. Instead, it requires a structured, gradual process that slowly reduces sugar content step-by-step, allowing consumers’ taste palates to adapt to the change over time. Clear communication with customers is also a critical part of the transition process, she added. Manufacturers are encouraged to update product labels to inform buyers of the recipe change, avoiding unmet expectations from customers accustomed to the original product’s flavor. “It’s all about how you manage the transition, and how you effectively communicate that change to your customer base,” Watson explained.

To further speed up adoption of lower-sugar products, the SRC has also developed pre-made, ready-to-use low-sugar beverage formulations that manufacturers can license and bring to market immediately. These existing recipes include flavored waters and functional drinks, all designed to meet the new regulatory sugar standards while offering consumers healthier alternatives to traditional sugary sodas and sweetened beverages.

For both consumers and producers, Watson argues that sugar reformulation delivers mutual benefits: it supports the government’s public health goal of reducing NCD rates, while helping businesses retain their market position and competitiveness under the new tax framework. By taking advantage of the SRC’s support, local beverage makers can navigate the regulatory shift successfully while meeting evolving consumer demand for healthier options.